Curated by Vinod Kumar Jain & Amit Jain · All Frontier Global · free, no login · reviewed 2026-07-05
Ancient wonders and soaring modern megacities
China is India's largest source of imports and its most fraught trade partner — the deficit ran past $100 billion even as Delhi tightened scrutiny on Chinese capital and apps after 2020. The live 2026 story is supply-chain leverage: Beijing's periodic curbs on rare-earth magnets, fertiliser and specialty chemicals keep exposing how much Indian electronics, autos and pharma still depend on Chinese inputs, which is exactly what the 'China-plus-one' relocation pitch is built to exploit.
Trade agreements (15): China is an RCEP member with an extensive web of bilateral and regional FTAs; India does not have a bilateral FTA with China (trade continues to be conducted under WTO/MFN terms amid ongoing border and strategic tensions), so this remains one of India's largest trading relationships without preferential tariff access.
Passport strength: visa-free/VOA to ~73 destinations. Chinese passport holders can enter 73 countries visa-free or visa-on-arrival.
India × China hub ↗ All countries factsheet
Indian passport holders require a visa in advance from a Chinese embassy or consulate, as China's visa-free transit policies for some nationalities do not currently extend to Indian citizens; tourist (L) visas typically permit stays of 30 days per entry.
e-Visa: yes · Visa on arrival: Varies by nationality
High-speed rail (like the Beijing–Shanghai line) connects major cities quickly and comfortably, while extensive metro systems serve Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou; didi (China's ride-hailing app) is widely used for local trips.
Car vs taxi: Metro and high-speed rail are far more practical than self-driving for visitors, given license requirements and unfamiliar traffic rules; taxis and Didi rides are inexpensive and convenient within cities.
Money: Chinese yuan renminbi (CNY) is the currency; cash use has declined sharply in favor of Alipay and WeChat Pay, so set these up in advance as many smaller vendors no longer accept cards or foreign cash easily.
SIM & data: China Mobile, China Unicom, or China Telecom SIMs are available at major airports like Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong; note that a VPN is needed to access many foreign apps and sites, and mobile payment apps (Alipay/WeChat Pay) are essential for daily transactions.
Tipping: Tipping is not customary and can even cause confusion in most restaurants and taxis, though upscale hotels catering to international guests may add a service charge.
Etiquette: Business cards are exchanged with both hands, and mild bowing or a handshake is standard; avoid discussing sensitive political topics, and offering/receiving gifts with both hands shows respect.
Food: Regional cuisine varies enormously, from Beijing's Peking duck to Sichuan's mapo tofu and Shanghai's xiaolongbao (soup dumplings); communal dining with shared dishes is the norm.
Say hello: Mandarin — “Nǐ hǎo” · thanks “Xièxie” · how much? “Duōshǎo qián?”
China is generally very safe for travelers with low rates of violent crime, though scams targeting tourists near major attractions and surveillance of internet activity are worth being aware of.
For nomads: Established digital nomad communities in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen with coworking spaces; visa restrictions limit long-term stays for non-workers.
Education: International schools expensive in major cities; universities moderate.
Healthcare: Modern hospitals in urban areas; costs vary by facility quality.
no-fta-adversarial-posture
No India-China bilateral FTA exists; bilateral relationship anchored on multilateral engagement (BRICS, SCO, G20, WTO); post-Galwan 2020 political tensions persist.
India implication: Indian exporters operate under MFN tariff base + Press Note 3 (April 2020) requires single-window vetting for Chinese FDI into India.
Outlook: No-FTA structural; political-distance corridor framing through 2030.
pntr-mfn-tariff-base
Both India and China are WTO members with PNTR (Permanent Normal Trade Relations · MFN) status; no bilateral preferential tariff margin exists; baseline India + China tariffs apply.
India implication: Indian exporters compete on landed-cost basis without preferential margin; Chinese tariff structure (3-25% on most Indian product lines) is the barrier.
Outlook: MFN base structural; no FTA prospect to introduce preferential margin.
BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa + Egypt, Iran, UAE, Ethiopia from 2024 + Saudi accession pending) coordinates on payments, NDB lending, multilateral architecture · China largest GDP share.
India: India + China share BRICS membership but bilateral political tensions (post-Galwan 2020) complicate cooperation; BRICS payments-framework + NDB lending shared institutional fora.
SCO (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus) headquartered Beijing · China founding member · counter-terrorism, energy, connectivity coordination.
India: India-SCO membership since 2017 anchors India's Central Asia engagement; counter-terrorism cooperation + INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) framework.
HS 85 (electrical machinery, equipment, parts) is India's largest import category from China — ~$30B+ annual · telecom equipment, smartphones, electronic components, batteries, lighting, solar cells.
India position: PLI scheme (smartphones + IT hardware + telecom + ACC batteries + solar cells) explicitly targets Chinese-import substitution over 5-10 years; Press Note 3 vetting on Chinese FDI.
HS 84 (machinery + mechanical appliances) is India's ~$15B annual import from China · industrial machinery, computers, IT hardware, specialty equipment for Indian manufacturing build-out.
India position: Indian PLI manufacturing buildout requires capital equipment imports; Chinese machinery cost-competitive vs Japan/Korea/Germany/USA alternatives.
India-China digital trade is highly constrained · Press-Note-3 FDI vetting + 200+ Chinese app bans (TikTok, WeChat, Shein, BGMI cycles) + RBI cross-border data localisation rules + Galwan-2020 strategic context.
India angle: India high-vetting
India-China services trade is highly limited · Mode 4 mobility constrained post-Galwan-2020 visa-tightening + restricted services categories + limited Indian IT-services presence in China + Chinese services in India tightly vetted.
India angle: limited bilateral mobility
India’s role: India is the buyer at scale (1.4B population electronics market) and the assembly-finishing center under PLI for smartphones (Apple/Foxconn-led), with $2.7B PLI outlay for 2020-25 and another $7.3B+ across follow-on schemes.
Bilateral electronics flow is starkly China→India directional ($30B+ annually), spanning consumer electronics, smartphones, telecom equipment, integrated circuits, and electronic components — with the PLI-driven import-substitution narrative actively reducing the corridor over the medium term.
India’s role: India supplies world-class formulation + finished-dosage manufacturing capacity (the "pharmacy of the world" narrative) but is structurally short on the upstream KSM/intermediate stack that Chinese supply has dominated since the 1990s.
API trade is starkly China→India directional ($3-4B annually), with Chinese suppliers covering 60-70% of Indian formulator API needs across antibiotics, anti-virals, vitamins, and basic intermediates — PLI-bulk-drug-2020 has earmarked $2B+ to substitute over 53 KSMs and intermediates.
Indian passport holders require a visa in advance from a Chinese embassy or consulate, as China's visa-free transit policies for some nationalities do not currently extend to Indian citizens; tourist (L) visas typically permit stays of 30 days per entry.
China uses the Chinese yuan renminbi (CNY). Capital: Beijing.
China is an RCEP member with an extensive web of bilateral and regional FTAs; India does not have a bilateral FTA with China (trade continues to be conducted under WTO/MFN terms amid ongoing border and strategic tensions), so this remains one of India's largest trading relationships without preferential tariff access.
China is generally very safe for travelers with low rates of violent crime, though scams targeting tourists near major attractions and surveillance of internet activity are worth being aware of.